Hurricane Sandy picked up speed this morning and began its menacing turn towards the U.S. coast as cities all along the shore scrambled to batten down before the super storm hits.

President Obama abandoned the campaign trail with only days left before the election, canceling events in the key battleground of Florida to return to Washington.

He told governors and mayors affected by Sandy, “Anything they need, we will be there. And we are going to cut through red tape. We are not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules. We want to make sure that we are anticipating and leaning forward.

The storm is estimated to be putting 50 million people at risk.

It may have already claimed some victims. The tall ship HMS Bounty, a replica of the three masted ship, went down off the coast of Cape Hatteras, S.C., this morning. Fourteen crew members were rescued and a Coast Guard helicopter is scouring the rough seas for two more crew members.

Sandy Sinks Tall Ship, Two Missing

Sandy began its left turn towards the East coast of the U.S. this morning with the top winds currently at 85 mph. Waves are approaching 20 feet off the coast of Long Island and have exceeded 30 feet off the coast of the Carolinas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The eye of the storm is forecast to make landfall at around midnight in Atlantic City, N.J., bringing with it life-threatening storm surges, gale force winds and rainfall that could cripple transportation and leave millions without power. But the force of the storm was already evident as powerful winds and high seas began lashing the coast this morning.

The force of Sandy, already a powerful storm system, will be multiplied as it combines with several systems to potentially wreak havoc from North Carolina to New England as far west as the Great Lakes.

The Northeast has been paralyzed by the impending storm. The stock market is closed today, the first unscheduled, market-wide close since September 2001, according to the NASDAQ website. Also in New York, the city’s public transportation has been completely shutdown for the second time in history. The first time was for last year’s Hurricane Irene.

By morning, waves were already washing over the seawall and into Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, the country’s financial center.

“It’s already at Irene levels and the question is going to be what level the surge will take us to later on this afternoon and this evening when it’s actually high tide,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference today.

The turbulent weather has brought much of the region’s transportation to a halt. Paralyzed airports have stranded people all over the country. Nearly 9,000 flights have been cancelled so far, according to Flight Aware. It is grounding planes throughout Europe since they can’t land at their U.S. destinations.

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has ordered road closures for all state highways today, according to ABC News’ New York station WABC. The closures will be implemented in two phases. Trucks will be prohibited from operating on limited access highways at 11 a.m. and state highways will be closed to all non-emergency vehicles at 1 p.m.

Power companies are trimming trees and putting equipment place to hopefully minimize the number of people left without power after the storm.

· Water: amounts will vary. Individuals should decide what amount they should store comfortably inside the home and be able to transport to other locations. They should have enough water for three to seven days.
· Food: at least a three-to seven-day supply of non-perishable food
· Flashlight and extra batteries
· First aid kit
· Whistle to signal for help
· Dust mask, bandanna or cotton t-shirt to help filter air
· Moist towelette for sanitation
· Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
· Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
· Plastic sheeting and duct tape: to shelter in place
· Unique family needs: prescription medications, glasses or contact lenses, infant formula or diapers, pet food/supplies, and important family documents
· Plastic for important family documents (Another option is to scan them on a CD and take the disk with you. You can protect this CD with a password. Keep important family documents in a safe deposit box at your bank.)
· Garbage bags and plastic ties: for personal sanitation
· Extra pair of socks
· Extra cash and credit cards

Items Specifically for Deaf-Blind People:· Hearing aid or cochlear implant batteries
· Extra hearing aids (if you have them)
· Sunglasses
· Extra pair of glasses and/or other optical aids
· Mobility cane (extra pair if you need/have one)
· Batteries and charger for pagers or cell phones
· Note pad and pen for communication (have dark felt tip pen and high contrast paper handy if you use them)
· Communication cards describing the best way to communicate with you
· Braille communication cards (if you use them)
· Business cards of SSPs, interpreters, service agencies
· Food, water and medicine for guide dogs or other service animals or pets

Source: Items Specific for Deaf-Blind People, Mary Polly Easley, Telecommunications Access of North Carolina, North Carolina Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

As you may be aware, Tropical Storm/Hurricane Isaac is expected to make landfall in several states, including Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the western parts of Florida within the next 48 hours.

THE LATEST INFORMATION ON HURRICANE ISAAC (August 27, 2012)

Red Cross Responding To Isaac Across Several States
SOURCE American Red Cross

Shelters Opening Today in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The American Red Cross is preparing for what could be a large disaster response spanning multiple states and is already starting to help the millions of people whose communities are under warnings from Tropical Storm Isaac.

Red Cross disaster workers are responding throughout the Gulf region, providing shelter and help in Florida and preparing to open evacuation shelters in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

As of Monday, August 27, the Red Cross:
· Deployed more than 1,500 disaster workers across the Gulf Coast to help with Red Cross efforts.
· Sheltered hundreds of people Sunday night in Florida. More than 560 people spent Sunday night in Red Cross and community shelters after Isaac brought heavy rain, power outages and flooding. Overall, the Red Cross opened 22 shelters and supported 20 community shelters overnight.
· Put dozens of shelters on stand-by along the Gulf, where evacuations have already been ordered in some area. Shelters are likely to open in the area throughout the day.
· Sent mobile kitchens and truckloads of relief supplies to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. More than 50 pre-positioned support trailers are ready with supplies.
· Activated more than 150 emergency response vehicles (ERVs) in those states and from around the country to help.
· Continued to help in Florida where flooding continues. Red Cross disaster workers will continue to help those affected by opening shelters, providing meals and distributing relief supplies like personal hygiene and clean-up items.

WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD DO
People who may be in the path of Isaac should stay informed about the storm and leave the area if authorities direct them to do so.

· The Red Cross Safe and Well website is a secure and easy-to-use online tool that helps families connect during emergencies. To register, visit www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). This site also connects with the Twitter and Facebook accounts of users.

· People should restock their disaster supplies, and fill their vehicle’s gas tank. They should also get ready to bring anything inside that can be picked up by the wind such as lawn furniture and bicycles. Close windows, doors and hurricane shutters. If you don’t have hurricane shutters, close and board up all windows and doors with plywood.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Tropical Storm Isaac is predicted to trigger a large and prolonged disaster response with major flooding across several states. People can call, click or text to donate by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

At first glance, the darkened room with thumping bass and bubble light looks like some high tech dance club.

But it’s much more important than that. It is a sensory room.

And it’s the newest classroom at Mobile School for the Deaf and Blind.

“I’ve seen expressions and movements I have never seen from the students as long as I have worked with them!,” said Amy Hess, orientation and mobility specialist at the school. “So that is exciting! And school hasn’t even started yet!”

When school opens this fall, those youngsters with diminished sight and hearing abilities will suddenly be faced with a new world especially designed for them.

The room is meant to stimulate children who have trouble experiencing their surroundings, or to calm those who need to focus on the school day ahead.

“Or they can just come in here and play and have a good time!” said Hess.

The room was designed by Sandra Fornes, who began designing these rooms after seeing what they could do for her own son.

“We had a son with severe and profound disabilities,” she said, “and we found that when his senses were stimulated he was much more alert, happier, and we believe even healthier.”

It already seems to be working, says Emily Gray, as she watches her daughter recline in a huge box of plastic bubbles.

“Actually at home she loves the cd player and just touches it. She loves music and wants me to turn it on. She puts her head down to it. She loves the vibrations.”

Many words could be used to describe this room.

But one youngster, Nathan summed it up best. as he marveled at the tubes filled with bubbling colored water.

FLINT, MI – In the art teacher’s room, giant walls of glass rise to the ceiling, filling the room with light.

In the gym, projectors display game scores and other announcements for the students and spectators, most of whom would struggle to follow a traditional game announcer.

In the media center, furniture is oriented in a semi-circle, so everyone has a view of the words people are shaping with their hands.

This is the Michigan School for the Deaf building, a brand-new, 80,000-square-foot, 26-classroom testament to cutting-edge educational technology and design.

Staff have been moving from the neighboring old school to the new building this month, preparing for the roughly 150 students who will start a new school year next month.

The signs of breaking in a new building are everywhere; boxes are piled in classrooms, wall brackets await television screens, brown patches of dirt around the building host flecks of grass seed.

“It’s kind of like moving into a new house,” said developer Dave Lurvey, walking through the new building Tuesday.

Lurvey is one half of Flint development team Lurvey White Ventures, which in 2010 was approved to buy the 80-acre campus from the state for $1.3 million. The other half is Ridgway White, the developer behind the Riverfront Residence Hall building.

The deal with the state stipulated the developers could buy the campus, so long as they built a new, cutting-edge school for the MSD. The other major plans for the campus include renovating historic MSD building Fay Hall into a new school for Powers Catholic High School.

Work on Fay Hall started this summer, with Powers expecting to start the 2013-14 year there.

At $36 million, the price tag for the whole project would be the biggest of any one construction project in Flint in at least a decade.

“I think the state realized that they had some aging facilities and were able to come up with a creative solution,” Lurvey said.

Walking through the two-story structure, Lurvey said the technology offerings are what are most exciting about the building.

Most anywhere in the building — all classrooms, even some hallways — are set up for flat-panel TV screens and “smartboards,” which project an interactive display, almost like a giant iPad.

In the “cafetorium” (that’s part cafeteria, part auditorium) three large projectors hang in front of a stage.

All of the screens throughout the building are connected via a central network. Say there’s a presidential address the principal wants all students to witness: School officials can patch that feed out to all screens, and also send out an American Sign Language interpretation of the speech onto secondary screens.

About half of MSD students stay overnight on campus in a nearby dormitory building, Lurvey said. Previously, those students had to walk outside to get to school. The new building has a connection to the dormitory.

“The most exciting part,” said White, “it sounds like the teachers are excited.”

Safe Fire Alerting System from Bellman
Friday, August 3, 2012
By Deaf Network

It only takes a spark from a faulty appliance plug or a burning candle
left unattended for a fire to start. Safe, a complete, ready-to-use
home fire alerting system, will alert you in the event of a fire. The
battery-operated smoke detector will signal the alarm clock and the bed
shaker will awaken you with an extra loud alarm signal, flashing lights
and vibrations.

The Safe Fire Alerting System (HC-VISIT/VP5) includes a smoke detector,
alarm clock and bed shaker. Find it at Harris Communications for only
$219.95, regularly $229.95.

For more information on the Safe system, go to http://bit.ly/HarrisComm_DN080512 or contact us at mailto:info@harriscomm.com.